The Last Time He Saw My Face

September 2024

The Last Time He Saw My Face

by Gordon Lightfoot; changes by Debra Milligan

The last time he saw my face

My eyes were bathed in starlight

And my hair hung long

The last time he spoke to me,

My lips were like the scented flowers

Inside a rain-drenched forest

But that was so long ago

That I can scarcely feel

The way I felt before

And if time could heal the wounds,

I would tear the threads away

That I might bleed some more

The last time I walked with him

His laughter was the steeple bells

That ring to greet the morning sun

A voice that called to everyone

To love the ground we walked upon

Those were the good days

The last time he held my hand,

My touch was autumn,

spring,

and summer

Winter too

The last time he let go of me,

I walked away into the night

He lost me in the misty streets,

A thousand months, a thousand years

When other lips will kiss my eyes

A million miles beyond the moon,

That's where I am . . .

But that was so long ago

That I can scarcely feel

The way I felt before

And if time could heal the wounds,

I would tear the threads away

That I might bleed some more

The last time I saw his face,

His eyes were bathed in starlight

And he walked alone.

The last time he kissed my cheek

His lips were like the wilted leaves

Upon the autumn covered hills

Resting on the frozen ground

The seeds of love lie cold and still

Beneath a battered marking stone

It lies unforgotten.